The Rock That's Hesitant to Fly
by KairiKari
Summary: One more person accompanied Ichigo and his friends to the Soul Society. Two more actually. Terra and his ghost friend, Gilth, decide to help out. What could possibly go wrong with more firepower? Terra and Gilth both have the powers of Soul Reapers...but why does Terra keep disappearing, literally. With one foot in the grave and unforeseen developments, Terra changes everything.
1. Chapter 1: The Rock That Protects

So, this is the prologue for one story I'm trying to get momentum on. The story itself is a Kingdom Hearts fic. I'm in desperate need of a beta for it though. If any of you readers for this one take a liking to it, please shoot me a message. :) Enjoy!

_'Words' _ = Thoughts

_"Words"_ = Words spoken between Terra and Gilth, through their connection

"Words" = Words spoken over a telephone

**_"Words"_ ** = Words spoken by a Zanpakutō

* * *

Chapter 1 {The Rock That Protects}

Afternoon light filtered into the hallways of the Karakura town high school. Students milled around, some aimlessly wandering through doors or back towards classrooms, as the end of lunch bell ticked ever closer. One student in particular ran through the hallways, white, layered, shoulder length hair flying as the thin, lanky form ran towards a classroom. They wore a boy's uniform, but something about the thatch like hair, one red viewable eye, sharp, angled chin, and the way the shoulders settled somewhere around the person's ears as they skidded to a halt outside of one classroom was vaguely female.

"Damn it! I am late the day I get back… again!" the albino figure thought stepping into the classroom, and promptly tripping over air.

_"Whoa! Careful now. You're an absolute klutz, you know that Terra?"_ a ghostly voice drifted through the student's head. A boy, wearing a black Shihakushō had materialized in time to catch the white haired teen, though he was plainly rather transparent. His hair was the same white as the others, but cut even with his chin, except for a thin ponytail that hung over his shoulder. Bandages were viewable under his frost colored hair, covering his left eye, and leaving one blood red iris to crease slightly in a smile, mirth viewed in every aspect of his countenance.

_'You are such an idiot, you know that Gilth.'_ A voice answered, apparently coming from the living albino, Terra.

_"At least I actually look like which gender I am. You look like a dude when you're actually a chick."_ The first voice answered, now identified as Gilth. Terra moved forward with a grace that had not been displayed by her earlier trip, but stalled ever so slightly as she noticed a pair of people staring at Gilth's ghostly form. One was a girl with dark hair and dark eyes; the other was a boy with a spiky shock of carrot orange hair.

_'You never did tell me what you thought about the attack of all those Hollows the other day.'_ Terra thought, looking at the ghost and ignoring the two living people staring at her.

_"What about it?"_ Gilth responded.

_'Do you think that I am right? That it was actually begun as a baited duel between the new Soul Reaper and that last Quincy? I think that-'_

"Terra, you're back!" a female voice exclaimed. A girl with long reddish-orange hair, held back by two snowflake shaped barrettes, and gray eyes glomped Terra from behind, smiling jovially as she did so, interrupting Terra's thoughts.

"Orihime, this was not the longest I have been gone. I have only been gone for three weeks." Terra said quietly, her voice was strangely unidentifiable as either male or female, the same as her body. Orihime let go of Terra and circled in front of her, the orange haired girl's left hand resting on her hip as she waved her finger menacingly at Terra. The white haired girl bent backwards slightly in an attempt to avoid eye dissection.

"Yes that's true, but before that you'd been gone for three months." Orihime chided. Terra raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Alright, I get it. I am in trouble for being sick, but what is it that is causing you to be mad that I missed it?" The albino asked quickly, her single viewable red eye widened slightly to show sincerity. Orihime caught hold of Terra's left wrist and dragged her forward.

"You missed meeting Rukia! She's a new student and she was out that one day that you were back." Orihime paused to pull Terra up even with her, facing the black haired girl that had been staring at Gilth. Said ghost was floating behind the girl, using his hands to sign something to his living friend.

"Terra, this is Rukia, Rukia, this is my good friend Terra. He's out a lot because he's got really bad health." Orihime introduced. Terra bowed, like a gentlemen meeting a lady of nobility at a ball, her tall, lanky form bending with practiced ease.

"How do you do," Terra said, leaning forward ever so much to speak in Rukia's, who was frowning slightly, ear, "Rukia Kuchiki." Rukia gasped, jerked away, and narrowed her eyes.

"What did you say, Terra?" the orange haired boy standing beside Rukia asked.

"Oh, I simply reminded her that frowns bring wrinkles and old age faster than smiles do. No need to worry Ichigo." Terra said, smiling and straightening.

* * *

"Orihime, can you tell me more about Terra?" Rukia asked her orange haired friend. The two girls were walking towards the clearing where they usually ate. Orihime put a finger to her chin, obviously thinking.

"Well, Terra and I have known each other since we were young. The first time I met Terra, he saved me from getting hit by a car. We were about four at the time. I remember Sora saying that Terra was tall for five years old, and Terra correcting him, saying, 'I am four, four years old and already seen more evils than others twelve times my age.' I didn't understand what Terra meant until later." Orihime said, slowing to a stop as she spoke.  
"What did he mean?" Rukia questioned. Orihime looked uncharacteristically sad as she began to speak.

"Terra, he had seen his parents' murder four days before then. He barely escaped with his life, and as it was, Terra lost his right eye. That's why Terra wears his hair like that, so he doesn't freak people out more. Terra's like that, always thinks about others before himself." Orihime said, brightening as she said it. Rukia looked rather uneasy.

"Is he always like that? Like he was earlier this morning I mean. Clumsy one moment than practically cat-like the next?" the black haired Soul Reaper asked.

"Oh yes, Terra's a bit of a klutz, but he's a trained fighter in hand to hand combat and other forms of self-defense too. He never uses contractions, which is kind of weird, but Terra will be Terra. He's also always a perfect gentleman, as you discovered this morning." The orange haired girl said, her eyebrows rising suggestively. Rukia's eyes widened.

"You don't think I-" Rukia trailed off at Orihime's expression.

"Why else would you be asking about Terra? And I thought you were interested in Ichigo!" Orihime asked. Rukia trailed off, spluttering. However, as the orange haired teen skipped forward, Rukia's expression fell into a serious frown. Thinking over what Orihime had said and what she had seen.

_'I didn't even sense that plus until he got in the room. Something's wrong with it, but I can't tell what. That guy wasn't normal either, despite what Orihime said. He knew my family name, and not the fake one I've been using, before I even spoke.'_ Rukia dragged herself away from her thoughts as she and Orihime arrived at the circle of girls eating, plastering a bright, cheery smile on her face.

* * *

The wind blew gently over the roof, ruffling hair and pulling slightly, though insistently, at loose articles of clothing. Ichigo, Chad, and some of Ichigo's other friends sat near the fence, lunch boxes strewn around them. A solid black lunchbox sat open a little ways away, everything still inside except a bottle of soda.

Terra stood on the lower guardrail, perfectly balanced, hands calmly tucked into pockets, staring into the sky. The wind tugged slightly at her hair, revealing a little bit more of her face, but not much. She could feel Ichigo's gaze on her ever so often, but he had yet to act on Gilth's 'appearance'.

_"I told you I recognized her. The look on her face…"_ Gilth said, laughing hysterically. Terra rolled her eye, suppressing a low chuckle.

"Hey Terra, you'd better get down, the wind's picking up." Ichigo called. Terra looked over her left shoulder.

"Really, I had not noticed." Terra said, sarcasm dripping off her voice. The wind blew slightly harder, the strands of hair covering the right side of her face lifted ever so slightly, showing the edge of white cloth on her face, usually hidden under her hair. It stretched from her hairline down to her cheek and over, seemingly secured behind her right ear.

'Better go, or you won't have time to eat.' Gilth murmured, trying to ignore the two sets of eyes boring into his back. Terra blinked slowly, and then fell towards the roof into a back flip. The albino girl landed perfectly on her feet, hands still in her pockets. Ichigo stared at Terra as she approached. Terra sat down and began to rifle through her lunch box.

"Do you always act so reckless?" the orange haired boy asked. Terra looked up from her lunch box, a triangle of sandwich clenched in her teeth and cookie crumbs around her mouth.

"Humph?" Terra managed around her food.

* * *

The wind whistled as it roared down past the dark alleyway. A black cat padded through the shadows, gold eyes scrutinizing the walls. It didn't seem perturbed by the loud, echoing noises or the rodents scampering about the edges of the shadows. Finally, the cat stopped and stared at one brick in the wall. Scratched into the surface was a message. Beside the name was a happy face with upside down 'u' eyes and a fist showing a 'v' peace or victory sign.

Yoruichi,

Insert some of your spirit energy into this brick and it will transport you to my current location. It will be good to see you again, you crazy cat lady!

-Terra

"You haven't changed much, have you Terra?" the cat said quietly. Yoruichi shook her head, an exasperated sigh escaping her before beginning to do just as the message had instructed.

One blur of color later, Yoruichi stood off the main floor of a training dojo. Terra's body was slumped against the wall and Terra's soul form sat in the middle of the raised floor, her sword sheath in front of her. As Yoruichi watched, Terra mouthed the words, "What is your name?" If Terra's legs were crossed, it was impossible to tell because up to Terra's waist was invisible. Terra's breath came in ragged gasps, her face a mask of pain. Yoruichi took a step forward, but Gilth sat up and picked the black cat up, setting her on the other side of his extended legs.

"She's training, let her be. She'll have to stop soon anyways." Gilth said quietly, munching on a red apple.

"How long will it take her, wait, HER?" Yoruichi exclaimed. Gilth gave her a foxy grin.

"Oh yeah, you didn't know did you? Well that shouldn't faze you Ms. I-sound-like-a-guy-when-I'm-really-a-woman!" Gilth said in a playfully chastising tone. Yoruichi looked surprised for a moment, and then she collected herself as a sad song echoed from Terra's body's pants pocket. The haunting lyrics became more pronounced as Gilth pulled the cell phone from Terra's school uniform's pocket.

"You'd better answer it. It's Orihime." Gilth murmured, opening the phone and setting it before Yoruichi. The cat cleared her throat.

"Hello?" Yoruichi spoke into the receiver.

"Mr. Yoruichi, is that you?" Orihime's voice echoed through the speaker.

"Yes, it's me Orihime. Is Urahara ready?" Yoruichi asked.

"Yeah, we're actually just waiting for Ichigo, and then we're going to go. Um, Yoruichi, why do you have Terra's phone?" Orihime's voice was hinted with suspicion, and Gilth quickly shut the phone, grinning sheepishly.

"Let's get going." He said. Yoruichi nodded and glanced at Terra, who was only viewable from about even with her elbows and above, as her sword glowed, then dimmed. Terra fell backwards, shoulders slumping in exhaustion and pain.

"G-Gilth, I need to g-get back into my body, now." Terra hissed through clenched teeth. Gilth, instead of dragging Terra's body to her, gingerly lifted the androgynous albino and carried her over, gently lowering her into the limp body. Yoruichi watched as Terra's pale face contorted into a grimace.

"Are you gonna be alright?" Gilth murmured. Terra moved her head in a jerking nod. Gilth picked Terra up and turned to Yoruichi.

"She'll be okay; the encroachment just barely touched her heart." The white haired boy said, masking his worry with well-practiced ease. Yoruichi looked like she might question Gilth's statement, but seemed to think better of it. Instead the cat replied with,

"Urahara's at his shop."

"Who?" Gilth questioned, his face in, as Terra would have called it, an adorable puppy dog questioning expression. His head was even tipped to the side. Yoruichi sighed.

"Mr. Hat-'n-Clogs." She stated resignedly. Gilth gave a nod of understanding.

* * *

Ichigo, Chad, Uryu, Orihime, Tessai, and Urahara stood by the Senkaimon. Ichigo was pacing back and forth, while Orihime fidgeted nervously. Uryu was checking to make sure there were no loose threads or specks of dirt on his clothes, while Chad simply stood, watching Ichigo's annoyance grow. Finally, it seemed to get the better of him.

"Why can't we leave yet?" the orange haired boy yelled. Urahara continued to calmly fan himself.

"We're waiting for three other people." The blonde man said stoically.

"I know Mr. Yoruichi's coming, but what about the other two?" Orihime queried. At that moment, loud, arguing voices reached the group.

"There is no way in hell I am going down there!" one voice shouted.

"Why does that voice sound familiar?" Ichigo asked aloud.

"Well, I'm not going to carry you! Come on, the others are waiting damnit!" a second voice yelled. Abruptly, a shriek echoed around the cavernous room.

"Urahara move!" Yoruichi's voice shouted. It took all of half a second for the group on the ground to scatter before something crashed into the packed earth. A cloud of dirt billowed up from the impact point. As the dust settled, Yoruichi and Gilth walked up. Terra finally became visible, crouched low to the ground. Suddenly, the female albino popped to her feet. She slapped a hand over her mouth and looked decidedly queasy.

"I think I am gonna be sick." Terra murmured around her hand.

"Terra, oh my that was you yelling! I didn't know you were coming with us!" Orihime exclaimed.

"And I didn't know you were scared of heights." Ichigo commented.

"For your information, I have vertigo. Get me too high off the ground, and I get dizzy, double vision, nausea, headaches, and etcetera. Quite disastrous when I have to fight flying enemies." Terra said stiffly, her queasiness obviously abated enough to speak as she brushed dirt off her clothes. Ichigo and his friends blinked as Yoruichi began whispering fervently to Urahara behind them.

"You do realize you sound like a girl when you talk like that." Uryu commented. Terra locked her eye on the black haired boy.

"Well, that would be accurate, seeing how I am a girl and all." Terra said, her voice leading towards casual.

'Three, two, one.' Terra thought, speaking with Gilth so no one else could hear.

"What?" the four teens unaware of the disturbing fact shouted.

Terra and Gilth stood off to the side of Ichigo's group. Terra was still in her physical body, and she and her white haired friend were talking quietly. Urahara walked over.

"Are you ready?" the blonde haired man asked. Terra nodded in reply.

"I am as ready as I will ever be. It is not everyday someone more than likely signs their own death warrant. The encroachments have reversed and I will have a total of twenty-four hours before I will essentially have to d-disappear." Terra said, her voice momentarily betraying her when she got to 'disappear'. She, Gilth, Urahara, and Yoruichi understood she said 'disappear' instead of 'die' for the sake of the, hopefully still, friends that were in their present company.

"Then again," the albino girl thought, "the doctor said I have only got a few more months before my lungs collapse completely. Guess this just makes it easier. They can think I died from the fighting rather than a stupid ass illness."

"What do you mean Terra?" Orihime asked, her voice quavering with some of the hurt she felt from not knowing about Terra's gender, even though she was the oldest friend Terra had besides Gilth at the moment. Terra didn't make a move to explain, still wrapped up in her thoughts and even then she couldn't bear to face Orihime at the moment, so Gilth turned to the teens that he had never spoken to directly until now.

"We're starting this rescue mission with one person already with a foot in the grave. None of us know why, but Terra is limited to how long she can stay in her soul form." The white haired boy said evenly. Terra nodded to Urahara who quickly knocked Terra's soul from her body. Terra staggered back, then promptly tripped over a rock and landed on her back.

"Ow." She said quietly. Terra then flipped to her feet, showing she wore the telltale Shihakushō of a Soul Reaper. Black bandages were wrapped around her right arm, starting at her hand and disappearing underneath her sleeve, and over her right eye.

"I didn't know you were a Soul Reaper." Ichigo said, sizing up the, to his annoyance, taller girl. Terra tilted her head slightly and smiled, eye closed to hide that her smile was fake.

"I was getting lots of Hollows before Rukia became involved. Then you came along and I had to lay low. I could not have the Soul Society coming after me because of Gilth. Then we would be in a world of hurt." Terra said.

"How come I never realized that you were a Soul Reaper? I should have realized that you had a lot of spiritual pressure." Uryu questioned.

"I learned a long time ago to suppress my spirit pressure. I got attacked too much." The albino replied.

"Let's get a move on." Yoruichi called.

Inside the Senkaimon, everyone was running. As soon as Uryu got caught, Terra and Gilth looked behind, seemed to see something, and took off towards the dot of light in the distance.

"What's their problem?" Ichigo asked. Yoruichi shot a look over her shoulder, saw what the two albino's had seen, and then quickly turned her run into a headlong sprint.

"Run!" the black cat shouted.

* * *

The two white haired teens exited the Senkaimon at the same time, landing in perfect sync on their feet. The two leapt out of the way of the entrance to the Senkaimon, making room for the others' exit. As Gilth looked around, a grin spread over his face. Terra's viewable eye narrowed, as she scrutinized Gilth's face.

"Gilth, you glad to be back?" Terra's voice was heavily cloaked to hide her feelings. Gilth took notice and whirled to face Terra. The boy's grin faded for a moment, before becoming insanely huge.

"Remember, Terra, I'm your friend. I go wherever you go." Gilth said. Terra's mouth turned up at the corners, showing the beginnings of a smile. Gilth smacked his androgynous friend upside the head.

"You need to gain a brighter outlook on life." The white haired boy chastised.

* * *

A dark haired teen panted as he struggled to rise from the ground. His white clothes had an increasing dark red stain, originating from a wound on his left shoulder. Uryu fought with his poisoned body, finally standing and facing his assailant, the black and white-faced Captain of squad twelve, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

_'I'm sorry master. It looks like once more I must disobey you.'_ The Quincy thought, resting a hand on one of the spikes on his glove.

"Stay your hand, Uryu!" a voice shouted. Uryu froze in the action of breaking the spike off and he, the Captain, and his injured Lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, swiveled their heads to see a white haired figure standing on the nearby roof.

"That's impossible! I – we all saw her die!" Uryu thought.


	2. Chapter 2: The Rock That Attacks

_'Words' _= Thoughts

_"Words"_ = Words spoken between Terra and Gilth, through their connection

"Words" = Words spoken over a telephone

**_"Words"_ **= Words spoken by a Zanpakutō

* * *

Chapter 2 {The Rock That Attacks}

Ichigo and his friends stood at a distance while Jidanbo hefted the gate open. Abruptly, Terra flash-stepped into view, left hand on her sword hilt as she appeared next to Jidanbo's left foot. Terra drew her sword with her left hand, pulling it vertically in front of her face. Just in time to catch the end of another, slimmer, impossibly long blade on the broad side of the sword. The androgynous teen didn't even shift backwards an inch.

"Not bad for a Ryoka." A snide voice called.

"Gin Ichimaru, Captain of squad three." Gilth said as he appeared next to Orihime. The teens around him jumped in surprise, but Yoruichi just casually looked over at the boy.

"You know an awful lot about the newest workings of the Soul Society." The black cat said calmly. Gilth shrugged. Terra raised her sword, charging at the Captain before her.

_**Sometimes I get so weird**_

_**I even freak myself out**_

Terra swung the blade around as the Captain's blade shrank to the size of a wakizashi, flashing past Terra, only to catch her larger sword when she swung it down. He parried the blow and returned one of his own, which was caught on Terra's cross-guard. Throwing the silver haired man's sword wide, Terra stabbed inward with the tip of her blade, and Gin barely parried it. Gin's grin grew wider, if possible.

**_I laugh myself to sleep_**

**_It's my, lullaby_**

"Not bad, not bad at all." He said. Terra then disappeared into a flash-step to avoid a strike from Gin's sword. They continued the deadly dance for a while, Terra always just managing to guard and retaliate.

"How is she managing to do that?" Uryu asked.

"Terra's really good at perceiving when her opponent will strike next and where." Gilth replied.

"So even though she's not quite to his level, Terra can keep up with that man?" Chad asked. Gilth nodded.

"That's the basic idea, at least until-."

_**Sometimes I drive so fast**_

_**Just to feel the danger**_

Gilth's intake of breath caught everyone's attention, but a strangled yell from the two locked in combat drew their attention back. Terra stood still, her face contorted in pain as from her knees down disappeared. She was still standing, but half of her legs were invisible.

**_I wanna scream, it makes me feel alive_**

**_Is it enough to love?_**

"Terra, move!" Gilth shouted, taking a step forward. Terra raised her head as Gin appeared near her right side. The captain drew back his arm, short sword glinting in the bright sunlight.

**_Is it enough to breathe?_**

**_Somebody rip my heart out_**

"Shoot to kill, Shinsō." The Captain said. Terra whirled, just in time to catch Gin's sword in her chest, the elongated blade piercing through her Shihakushō and out the other side, right between her shoulder blades.

_**And leave me here to bleed.**_

"No!" everyone outside the gate, minus Jidanbo, shouted. Gin started to pull his sword from, what he considered, the corpse, but Terra's right hand clamped around the blade, wrapping around the top so as not to slice open her palm. The bandages around Terra's right arm burst into flames that burned as black as night.

**_Is it enough to die?_**

**_Somebody save_**

"He's awakened." Gilth whispered. He sounded utterly horrified as he watched black smoke began to surround Terra, forming more of a mist around her. An invisible wind seemed to be pulling at Terra's clothes and hair, though her face remained eerily shadowed.

_**My**_

_**Life**_

"Who?" Yoruichi asked, turning to Gilth as the others also looked at him. Gilth's hands were curled into fists, and his whole body was shaking with either rage or fear, none could tell. He stared resolutely out at the battlefield.

**_I'd rather be anything but ordinary please_**

"The Nightmare." The white haired boy replied quietly, face blank and his eyes still locked on Terra.

_**To walk within the lines**_

In answer a low, sinister laugh echoed over the area. A dark, eerie shadow slid into existence, the dark mist forming around Terra's right side. The faint visage of a tall figure with impossibly long hair slid like oil over Terra's features. A dark mass of what looked like leaves or something similar stretched out to her right.

_**Would make my life so boring**_

**_I want to know_**

The cloth covering Terra's right eye burst into black flame, curiously not catching her hair on fire. The fire licked at her face as a flicker of light began to show from under the flames.

_**"How...ironic."** _Terra said, but a deeper, obviously male one masked her voice. Gin raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised at the turn of events.

**_"The roles have been reversed for once."_** Terra said. She finally raised her head, showing that her left eye was still red, but her right eye, which had a ragged scar crossing it, glowed with a blue-green light.

**_That I have been_**

_**To the extreme**_

Terra slowly gripped her sword's hilt tighter, never moving her gaze from Gin. Finally, the possessed white haired Soul Reaper raised her sword, pointing it at Gin.

"Masamune." Terra said, her voice echoing with authority. The blade of the Zanpakutō shot forward, stabbing Gin through the stomach.

**_So knock me off my feet_**

**_Come on now give it to me_**

"That is more like it, you pathetic fool." The female albino spat, Shinsō shrinking away as Gin staggered back in surprise. She removed the sword from the Captain, flicking it and spraying blood onto the ground and nearly imbedding the silver tip in the stone tiles.

**_Anything to make me feel alive_**

_**Is it enough to love?**_

Abruptly, Gilth plowed into Terra, his ponytail just short of coming undone. His face was twisted into a cross between rage and concern. The boy punched his friend in the face and the oily shadow disappeared.

"Get a grip! Or do you want to kill us all?" Gilth shouted. When the darkness had vanished, Terra slumped in Gilth's arms, blood pouring from the wound in her chest. Terra's head lolled in his direction, the aqua glow illuminating the paler side of her face, giving it an underwater look. What little color was in her face was draining quickly.

**_Is it enough to breathe?_**

**_Somebody rip_**

"S-sorry, let the encroachments get a hold of me." Terra said haltingly, her now burned right hand holding a weak grip on Gilth's Shihakushō. The glow finally died down from Terra's right eye, leaving it lifeless and dead again. Her left eye looked like it was about to follow the example.

**_My_**

**_Heart out_**

"D-do me a favor." Terra said quietly, blood beginning to pool in her mouth, making it hard to hear her. Gilth smoothly picked up his lanky friend, cradling her in his arms. He flash-stepped toward the gate, getting outside just as Gin managed to lash out at Jidanbo, causing the giant of a man to stagger back, and effectively closing the gate.

"Don't wait for me, I'll be back." Gilth threw the statement towards Ichigo before taking off. The albino boy sped over rooftops and bridges, heading for a place only he knew of. Tears pooled in his crimson eye, and as he blinked to look down, began to overflow. The crystalline streams cascading down his face like miniature waterfalls.

**_And leave me here to bleed_**

**_Is it enough to die?_**

"I won't leave you behind," Gilth began

"Go be someone else's light." Terra murmured as the life died to a faint spark in her left eye. Gilth increased his speed, and as he ripped his head up to look forward, blinked.

**_Somebody save_**

**_My_**

The tears pooled in his eye released shimmering droplets into the air when Gilth closed his eyes for that brief moment, leaving a small patch of dampness on the hard packed earth as he passed over a gap between houses. The white haired boy spoke, finishing his sentence…

**_Life_**

"Little brother."

**_I'd rather be anything but ordinary please._**

* * *

"Stay your hand, Uryu!" a voice shouted. Uryu, the Captain, and his injured Lieutenant, swiveled their heads to see a white haired figure standing on the nearby roof.

"That's impossible! I – we all saw her die!" Uryu thought, lowering his eyes slightly at the thought of what had happened, "Nobody could have survived that." The figure leaped from the roof and landed in front of Uryu, revealing it to be Gilth, his once happy, bright eye, stone cold and serious. On his left side, two swords were stuck into the belt of his Shihakushō, but neither of them were Terra's.

"The upcoming fight will need lots of long range fighters. Your services will be needed Uryu." The white haired Soul Reaper said quietly. Gilth turned to face Mayuri, a red mist beginning to rise around him.

"If I were you, I'd scram. I'm already pissed and I need something to take it out on, and you look like a prime punching bag. Or should I say sacrifice." Gilth murmured, his back to Uryu as he stared at the Captain, his eye glowing ever so slightly red. Needless to say, Mayuri left in a rush. Gilth pulled Uryu over to the wall and made him sit. When the Quincy protested, Gilth argued back, his voice almost sounding normal.

"If you don't sit down, shut up, and let me get the poison out of you, you'll die. Now do you want Terra to kill me or are you going to be a cooperative little Quincy?" the white haired boy said. The mention of Terra made Uryu stop resisting long enough for Gilth to get him down into a sitting position. The dark haired boy stared at his pale counterpart through his glasses.

"T-Terra, but she's d-." Uryu stammered.

"Terra's not dead!" Gilth shouted. The Quincy looked taken aback, but Gilth smiled, truly so and it showed in his eyes, well, eye. While Uryu sat in slack jawed disbelief, Gilth knelt down and laid a hand on the dark haired boy's wounded shoulder. A faint glow began to surround the hand that the Soul Reaper had placed on Uryū's shoulder, almost looking like a bubble of liquid. The Quincy began to writhe in pain, attempting to get away from the white haired teen's hand. Gilth's other hand clamped down on the dark haired boy's other shoulder.

"Sit still, this is gonna hurt, but I'm extracting the poison. It's taking longer because I don't have any serum, and I'm not actually going around to all the sections of your body that are infected. However, if I were to take that time, you'd be dead before I even found the things I was looking for." Gilth explained. Uryu blinked and tried to be as still as possible. Nemu stared at the two boys.

"You can…do…that?" the Lieutenant asked. Gilth looked at her and nodded, then turned back to his friend. The albino Soul Reaper then pulled his hand away, a globule orb that was almost completely filled with a dark liquid followed. Gilth's eyes were narrowed in concentration. Uryu gritted his teeth and grimaced as the poison was taken from his body. Finally, the last of the liquid was sitting suspended above Gilth's pale hand. He shuffled back a few steps while still crouched, and then he sprang straight up into the sky, over twenty feet. The two dark haired people's eyes widened as they watched his progress up. With one, fluid movement, the teen tossed the orb up, away from himself, then directed his pointer and middle fingers at it.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on the south! Hadō number thirty-one, Shakkahō!" the white haired boy called. As he did, an orb of light was fired from the tip of his fingers, eradicated the bubble of poison. Gilth slowly sank back to the ground, saluting Uryu with two fingers, and then flicking them into a 'V'.

"I've gotta to go. Terra's counting on me to actually get some stuff done while she's training." Gilth said jovially. Uryu stared at him wide eyed.

"So, she's really alive?" the Quincy asked with an air of disbelief.

"When you guys are in the biggest amount of trouble, we'll come; you can trust me on that." The albino said seriously.

* * *

Everyone stared up in disbelief as Aizen and his fellow renegade Captains rose into the air. The Captain of Squad One, Head Captain Yamamoto, was explaining to everyone what was going on with the orange barriers that had appeared around the deserting Captains.

"…From the moment that light fell on Sōsuke Aizen, it became completely impossible for us to reach him." The old man said. As soon as the words left his mouth however, a red blast sliced across the three pillars of gold light, dispersing them from just above the three renegades down.

"T-that's impossible!" Captain Jūshirō Ukitake gasped. The three ex-Captains crashed to the ground.

"It may be impossible for you, but not for me!" a voice called.

"Is that, Gilth's voice?" Uryu asked aloud. Almost everyone who was able turned to see the albino Soul Reaper approaching from the trail leading down from Sokyoku Hill. He had gained two scratch-like purple marks on either side of his face, as well as two on either wrist, a violet crescent moon on his forehead. Also his ears were severely pointed, his nails were elongated, and he seemed to have grown several inches taller. As he walked, he slid one of his swords back into its sheath. Gilth then raised his left hand and brushed aside the hair over his left eye out of his face. Then, with the same hand, the albino pointed over everyone's heads.

"You'll be wanting to see the big entrance of your friend!" the boy called, grinning like he had before Terra's fight with the white haired Captain. Everyone turned to see a figure with red wings landing on the edge of the cliff. Crimson feathers scattered everywhere, looking so much like the blood spattered on the hilltop.

"N-no way." Orihime gasped.

"Terra is-" Chad murmured.

"She-she lived?" Yoruichi asked.

"Who is that?" Shunsui Kyōraku questioned.

"So he wasn't lying." Uryu breathed. Terra shook out her blood colored wings and folded them tightly behind her back. She too seemed to have had a growth spurt. A white headband, or at least it looked like it, held her hair back from her face, finally exposing her jagged scar in full, but her eye was open and a bright, glowing aqua with a cat slit pupil. The bandages on her right hand had been replaced with a black leather glove, the pair of which was on her left hand. Terra stared at Gin, and then slowly pointed at him.

"You." Terra said. Gin raised an eyebrow.

"Who, me?" the ex-Captain asked. Terra narrowed her eyes and snapped her fingers. Three black creatures, looking like a cross between a wolf and a dinosaur, erupted from smoky puddles on the ground and tackled the white haired man.

_**You know**_

_**I know**_

"What are those things?" Soi Fon shouted.

"If I remember right, they're called Shadow Creepers. They come from the energy of souls bound in hell." Gilth explained, standing beside Uryu. All of Ichigo's friends and the surrounding Soul Reapers turned towards him.

_**We don't**_

_**See**_

"Where did that Ryoka get a power like that?" Yamamoto asked. Gilth blinked and turned to the Captain of Squad One, bowing to the man, a sarcastic smile firmly in place.

"By having her demonic blade fully awaken. He...is not the greatest when it's the distinction between good and bad." The white haired Soul Reaper said, "However, the element of surprise certainly has a big play in Terra's upper hand."

_**So our**_

_**Truth ways**_

"Demonic blade?" Orihime asked as Terra waved her hand, dispersing the two remaining Shadow Creepers.

"Yeah, Masamune, the sword you saw form during Terra's fight with Gin. That guy's so picky too." Gilth said, frowning slightly.

_**Patiently**_

Terra drew her blade with her right hand. The silver hilt was wrapped in blue, and the guard was a simple square with rounded corners. Terra raised her arm, pointing her sword straight into the sky.

"Grow, Masamune." The 'supposedly dead' Soul Reaper said. A wind erupted around Terra as the ground cracked severely. Her sword lengthened, stretching past six feet, the blade a beaten sliver of silver.

_**I walk these streets**_

_**With a song in my head**_

The wind exploded into a whirlwind around the Albino, and the ground became so cracked that it looked like a meteorite the size of a house had landed there as Terra took off, disappearing so she was only a blur of motion. All anyone saw of the albino Soul Reaper was a blue blur shooting across the field and between the three ex-Captains, looking very much like the ball of a pinball machine.

_**We ebb and we flow so**_

_**Got my toes on my pup**_

Aizen, Tōsen, and Gin looked like they were getting beaten. Terra had the element of both surprise and being an unknown. Once the renegades got their feet back, she wouldn't seem nearly as powerful. As it was, Terra kept a tight grip on her brief upper hand. That is, until one of the Menos Grande decided to put its foot down, literally. Terra became trapped underneath the Gillian's foot. Another Negación surrounded the betraying Captains. Aizen began talking, but Gilth was utterly focused upon Terra.

_**At the foot of my bed**_

_**My heart always seems to know**_

The Menos Grande retreated and the albino ran forward, in time to see Terra revert to her sealed state. Gilth stood over his friend, who lay on the ground; one wing was extended and looked broken.

_**Take the glitz back**_

_**I want the soul instead**_

"Oh Terra." the boy thought, kneeling beside said Soul Reaper.

_**'Cause I've found some kind of fairy…tale**_

* * *

The sun cast a gold glow over the scene at Sokyoku Hill. Squad Four had been dispatched to help the injured Soul Reaper Captains, lieutenants, and the Ryoka too. Gilth waited until he was sure someone was free, and then waved one of the squad members over. The girl came over haltingly, obviously not sure about helping the Ryoka. Gilth grinned.

"I'm not gonna bite. Trust me, Terra's the one that does that." The albino said. The healer looked relived by the joke, enough to pass a small smile him in reply.

"What can I do for you?" she asked. Gilth scratched the back of his head.

"I'm, not the greatest at setting bones. I'm pretty sure that Terra's left wing's main bone is snapped." The male albino said sheepishly. The girl kneeled beside Terra's right wing, which Gilth had extended, and began to examine it.

"Your right, from what I can tell, the main bone's been broken. Though, this is curious…it's like…are her bones hollow?" she asked. Gilth blinked.

"You can tell that, just by feeling the break?" he asked. The squad four member nodded.

"Well, yeah. Because of her wings, her body needs to be light, like a bird's." Gilth explained. The girl nodded and began to set the bone, but Terra's hand shot out and caught the squad member's hand.

"No need to do that, the bone will set itself." The albino girl said.

"Terra, you're awake!" Gilth exclaimed. Terra's eyes opened, and she regarded the Squad Four member with her aqua eye.

"Thank you, but I will heal soon enough." The female Soul Reaper said. Terra then continued to sit up, her wing dragging on the ground.

"Terra, give it a break. You got stomped by a freaking Gillian! Even your strength would be no use against them." Gilth exclaimed. Slowly, Terra reached out and grabbed hold of Gilth's Shihakushō, clenching her hand into a fist, and pulling her friend closer. Gilth blinked and stared at the girl. Terra pulled him closer.

_WHAM!_

The sound drew everyone's attention in the immediate vicinity. Gilth's head had snapped to the left, forced to the side by Terra's punch.

"Terra, why…" Orihime called from her position beside Ichigo. Terra rose to her feet, dragging Gilth into a half kneeling, half standing position.

"Why?" the white haired girl shouted, drawing everyone else's attention.

"What is…?" Jūshirō began.

"Why did you not tell me you were, were…" Terra's fist began to tremble with some hidden feeling.

"Why is Terra so upset?" Rukia asked aloud.

"WHY DID YOU NOT TELL ME YOU WERE MY BROTHER!" the female albino shouted.

Everyone stood stock still, shocked at Terra's exclamation. The said Soul Reaper was panting slightly, fist raised to punch the still kneeling Gilth again. Gilth slowly raised his head, sorrow painted over his usually happy-go-lucky face, looking very out of place.

"So, Masamune told you about that did he? Terra, I'm sorry, really, but how could I tell you. I'm not sure I could remember our father if I had to think about it. To tell the truth, I can't tell you how many times I've thought about telling you. Explaining what little I know of our situation." The white haired boy said. Terra blinked and relaxed her arms slightly.

"But why did you hide it from me? We have known each other, been best friends, since we were four, and you never once told me. Why?" the albino girl asked. Gilth looked at her and smiled a half smile, quirking one side of his mouth higher than the other.

"Because, do you think you'd really have believed me. Either, you were too young, or we'd been friends for so long, you'd think I was crazy. Someone other than me had to tell you." Gilth explained. Terra shook her head and let him go. Captain Jūshirō walked up smiling sadly as Gilth stood.

"Well, I don't know everything about your situation, but I know enough to make introductions." The white haired Captain said. Terra and Gilth stared at him in disbelief before following him slowly across the cliff top. The Captain led them to where Captain Byakuya Kuchiki was being treated. Rukia bowed her head to her Captain, but didn't rise from the ground, her hand still clasped around Byakuya's. The leader of the Kuchiki clan painfully turned his head to the approaching trio. Jūshirō stopped just beside Rukia and turned to the two albinos following him.

"Terra. Gilth. This is Byakuya and Rukia Kuchiki." The Captain of Squad Thirteen said. Terra opened her mouth to protest, but Rukia beat her to it.

"Captain, I already know Terra," the dark haired woman said in a puzzled voice, but Jūshirō shushed her.

"Rukia, this is Gilth and Terra. Byakuya, these are your lost sons." The Captain said.

* * *

_ 'After that, and after the uproar died down, Captain Jūshirō clarified everything.' _Terra thought as she pushed herself to her feet and walked to a door set into the wall in between the two beds that occupied the room she now shared with Gilth. They had been allotted to the Sixth Squad for now, simply because their father, Terra still had a hard time wrapping her head around that one, was the Captain.

_'Gilth and I were born identical twins, to Byakuya and his wife, Rukia's sister. Shortly after that, she took ill and eventually died. I guess that makes Rukia my aunt…wow, that's weird.'_ The androgynous Soul Reaper opened the door and walked into a double bathroom. There was two of everything, except for the toilet, and shower. The sets of towels were white and black, but everything else was a generic white.

_'I was kidnapped not long afterwards and taken to the world of the living, where I was given a stolen Gigai that was still in the experimental stages. It was designed to live, grow, die and be reborn with the soul implanted in it.'_ Terra closed the door, shed her sweaty clothes and stepped into the shower block, closing the glass door behind her. Curiously, she left her headband on.

_'It just happened by chance that I ended up a girl this lifetime. Though it does explain a lot, like why I am not really definable as male or female.'_ Terra turned the shower on and let the warm water pour over her.

"It makes me wonder, and makes me mad. Gilth and I never even had the chance to live before we were dead." The albino thought aloud, running her hands through her hair her hair, "However, the upside of being here, I am free of the deteriorating Gigai, so I am no longer in danger of dying. It also helps that with Masamune no longer screwing up my Reiatsu, I am not suffering the encroachments any longer."  
_**"Sorry."** _A voice said in the white haired girl's head. Terra shook her head, smiling slightly to herself.  
"It is fine Masamune," she said, returning to her shower.

* * *

Five minutes later, Terra stepped out and pulled on a black robe. The albino exited the steamy bathroom and flicked Gilth on the forehead as she passed him on the way to the partially open closet. Gilth woke with a snort.

"Wake up sleeping beauty, almost time for us to go." Terra said as she pulled out a Shihakushō set from the closet. Gilth sprang out of bed with a yelp and rushed into the bathroom. As Terra dressed, another yelp was heard as Gilth accidently turned on the cold water. The albino girl smirked slightly as her brother exited the bathroom in a flurry of white.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier!" the boy shouted as he tried to tie his Hakama and close his Haori at the same time.

"Because you would not have awoken if I had blown a foghorn in your ear." Terra deadpanned.


End file.
